Met inquires into alleged slur on Sikh temples

Claims that a senior policewoman ordered her officers to shun food prepared by Sikh temples on the grounds that they employ poor hygiene have triggered an investigation by Scotland Yard.

An inquiry has been set up after a controversial briefing for officers policing a large Sikh procession in west London last November.

It is claimed that as they prepared to patrol the streets around the Guru Nanak procession, they were told to stay away from food provided by the temples because one officer had apparently eaten some and felt unwell. The senior officer briefing them is alleged to have said: "Their hygiene standards are not good as ours."

The Met has reacted following complaints internally and from representatives of some leading temples in west London. News of the alleged comments spread quickly.

The investigation is being supervised by a "Gold" team of senior police officers, officers from the Sikh Police Association and community representatives.

A Met spokesman said: "The department of professional standards is investigating an internal complaint alleging that an inspector on Ealing borough made inappropriate comments during a briefing for a planned event in November. The complaint was received on December 16 and the investigative process is in its early stages. The officer has not been suspended."

Himmat Sohi, president of the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall - the largest temple in Europe - said the issue must be cleared up quickly.

"The commissioner, Sir John Stevens, has been to our temple and eaten here and so have the local commanders. We have good connections with the police and they have all left very happy. If this is not sorted out people will be very hurt because they work hard into the early hours to prepare this food and get blessings for that."

He said the procession, attended by 40,000 people from all over Europe, is the biggest and most prestigious of its kind outside India.

Suresh Grover of the Southall-based organisation The Monitoring Group said the allegation was profoundly disturbing. "It smacks of racism. The standard of cleanliness and hygiene in the temples is extremely high. This is very serious because issues of religious identity and respect for religion are crucial."

The controversy will cause dismay within Scotland Yard and on the Metropolitan Police Authority, both of which are desperate to forge good links with the Sikh community in west London and to recruit more minority officers.

Relations were strained by the experiences of Gurpal Virdi, the Sikh officer who was wrongly dismissed after being falsely accused of writing racist hate mail. He was dismissed in March 2000, but within months an employment tribunal ruled he had been wrongly sacked. After a four-year ordeal, he was reinstated and the Met had to pay about £240,000 compensation.